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Archive for the ‘Awards’ Category

Miss Ionia nominated me for the Sunshine Award. She saw my most recent post and thought I could use some cheering up. She often tells me how my posts inspire her and make her smile. She is truly a gem, an amazing person with quite the gift herself. Check out her blog, especially if you like to read. She gives reviews, pretty good ones too.

I said I was taking a break from nominations, but I will make an exception this time as I need a positive distraction from my own mind this evening. So, here are the rules for accepting this award:

Include the award’s logo in a post or on your blog.

Answer 10 questions about yourself.

10-12 other fabulous bloggers must be nominated.

Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.

7 – Prefer getting or giving presents: Both are great, honestly, but to give something to someone….even if it’s something handmade and to see them smile, to see their joy when they get it, well, it’s priceless.

8 – Favorite pattern: I don’t have one….

9 – Favorite day of the week: Saturday

10 – Favorite flower: Tiger Lilly

Nominees: They should be people who inspire and give joy and laughter when reading their posts. It is hard for me to pick each time, which is one of the reasons I backed off from accepting nominations. Well, this time around….the nominees are:

Bzebza: He always has such interesting posts! I love the photos, so breathtakingly beautiful! Hey, you…you reading this….check it out and take a gander at his short stories too!

Alex: Such a wonderful blog to read, such hope, uplifting words, and honesty can be read on his blog. Do check it out!

Wendell: His poems are beautiful, written with such emotion and love. Each one captivates me. If you’re a lover of God, poetry, and just love in general….check out his page!

Quillian & Angela: Most interesting blog, like what they have to share! I especially liked reading about the journey back to the states (which is where I am from) for a visit and their trip to see a Cardinals game, as I am too a baseball fan. The season is about to start! Go journey with them, see what they see and go where they go! 🙂

Felicia: This lady is outstanding! I love reading her blog. There are stories that make me cry, laugh, and get inspired. Something I read there today had me in tears, something so heartbreaking, but told in such a way that was beautiful. Check it and the rest of her blog out!

K.D: She posts such amazing and inspiring things. Need a little hope, a smile, some perspective? Check out her site, you’ll be glad you did, I know I am!

Bussokuseki: His writings offer up such warmth, peace, love, laughter, and hope. He wants the best for those in his family and around him. It’s definitely worth stopping by his page to read what he has to say.

Dianne: Her posts are so real! I love that she gives of herself when she writes. Her stories, the lessons she tries to give, & the things she shares are amazing. Take a look and see what she’s creating.

Victoria: Her stories about her family, marriage, children, and every day adventures are quite something. Sometimes I leave her page with a laugh, sometimes a moment of: “I know how she feels!”, sometimes hope that things can get better, and much more depending on the post. She is real, honest, and down to earth. Check out her page! 🙂

The one and only Opinionated Man: He says what he’s thinking. I don’t always agree with his opinions, though often times I do. Even when we don’t, I respect him for putting himself out there, for being real, for being himself. Check out what he has to say, always an interesting read!

Alright, shine on nominees and to all reading this! No matter how dark it might get, there is always a light to be turned on, to be found. Be that light! 🙂

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I was nominated by TWO people for this award: Eddie & Shaun. Thank you so very much, I am deeply honored. I am to give an acceptance speech. So, without further ado, here it goes:

I first want to thank God for giving me the gift of being a good writer, for being able to be someone who can touch other people’s lives through words and also through actions as well. I want to thank Him for being an amazing support and for getting me through tough times. I want to thank Him for His mercy and His love.

I would also like to thank those in my family that support me and have believed in my ability to write. Thank you so much to: Grandma Strahota, Mom, my step-mom Cindy, my sister Brenda, my cousin Kate, my aunt Marion, my aunt Lisa, my aunt Cindy, my cousin Stephanie, and to anyone else I may not be able to think of who have given me even the slightest bit of support in this.

Thank you to my friends who have supported me as well. That list is too long for me to be able to mention them all. But the ones who most recently have been here for me are: Aimee, Courtney, Sharon, Joe, Laura, Heather, Jessica, Lisa, Doug, Schelley, Megan, Eddie, Shaun, Mike, Victoria, Ionia, & Michelle. Anyone I may have forgotten, please forgive my oversight, especially to my WordPress family. The support I receive on here is amazing, especially the last few weeks. I am making some wonderful friends and I am so very happy and so touched to be a part of this.

I write because it’s a way to express myself when I am unable to vocally say what I’m feeling. I share what I write because I want others to get to know me in ways they didn’t before and most importantly because I want to touch others, to inspire others, to give people hope. Writing is a part of who I am, it has been since my childhood. I am just so glad that the gift God gave me is being used to help and not hurt. May I continue to bring joy and light and love to the hearts of those around me. May I make you laugh, smile, cry, dream, think, and feel.

Thank you again boys, so honored you felt I was deserving of this award. They just earned it themselves or I’d nominate them again. To be honest, as humbling and wonderful as being nominated for these awards is, I think I am going to take a break from accepting them for awhile after this so that I may focus more on my writing instead of who to nominate for this or that. Here and there it’s lovely and I am honored each time, but right now it’s become a little too much for me.

But, I am humbly accepting this award before that hiatus and so I must nominate a few people I believe deserve this award. That list is pretty big actually, but I am going to keep it short. I want to focus on a few bloggers who have captured my heart so much in the past week. So, here is to you….

Michelle: My dear, you inspire me in every blog I read of yours. When you write about music, your family, your life, and just how you feel about things like Autism, it touches my heart. Reading your story really did it for me. I look up to you.

Schelley: I love reading your blog, seeing your pictures, guessing what your picture of the day might be, and just talking with you. I still remember the first picture I guessed on and it was salt, though I thought it might be ice. I love how you capture the very essence of something and show the world its finest details, really make one look at something for what it really is. Keep showing us the world through your eyes and through the lens of your camera.

Victoria: I love how real you are in your blog. I love reading about your life, your joys, your trials, your funny tales, and so much more. I love our discussions and how you pour out your heart. I want to thank you for your kindness and your support. I believe I came across your blog for a reason and I only hope that many more come to see you to be as wonderful as I do.

This is all for now, it’s been a long weekend and I haven’t been online much. I did want to do this though. Again, I am taking a hiatus from accepting awards. I do again thank each of you for every nomination and for all of the continued support. I love you. Good-night and God Bless!

P.S. Thank you Eddie, for teaching me how to properly link to other’s pages! 🙂

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With all of these nominations, I am really starting to get emotional here. Thank you all for the award nominations, you guys and gals ROCK! This particular nomination is for the Liebster Award and the nomination comes from http://meganhasocd.com/author/mlmessme/ and you really need to stop by her blog. She is an amazing person with a lot to offer us readers. Thank you, lovely lady, thank you!!!

Here are the ever-daunting Liebster Blog Award Rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the tagger has set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!

First, 11 facts about myself:

1. I want to travel to each country my family members came from and more besides, but especially those so that I can see where we came from. Those countries are: Germany, France, England, Ireland, and what was once Bohemia and I now believe is the Czech Republic. I am also Native American, so well, I am already here. 😉

2. I want to see all 50 states before I die. So far, I have visited and driven through 21 states. Though Arizona I just drove through and have yet to put my feet on the ground there.

3. I am a nut fanatic. I like cashews, pistachios, almonds, peanuts, etc. I love to just sit and munch on them. I do not really care for walnuts or pecans and I do not care for my nuts to be baked into anything, just as they are.

4. I love tigers, I feel they are beautiful animals.

5. I love horses, they are majestic. They are peaceful and easy for me to talk to. I truly feel they understand.

6. I am a Harry Potter nerd.

7. I am also a Twilight geek, but I do think that vampires should NOT sparkle.

8. I do not like horror movies, period.

9. I feel that comedy is great medicine for a frustrated soul.

10. I am not a fan of cold weather and that is ironic since I was born and raised right here in Wisconsin.

11. I like Tinkerbell.

Here are a few things, 11 to be exact, about myself based on the questions asked by http://lovinchelle.wordpress.com, but since http://meganhasocd.com/author/mlmessme didn’t ask questions, I decided to answer the ones she was given:

I would love to be a professional writer. I enjoy doing it as a hobby, but going professional would be extremely rewarding to me. (agreed, Megan!) Realistically at this point, I would like to be an Administrative Assistant because I have been one before and I am good at it. I like to file, fax, make copies, type letters, edit records in a database, balance invoices, enter credit card payments, deal with the mail, etc etc. I like that sort of stuff and that is my geek side coming out. 😉

3. Whats one thing you wear that probably needs to be thrown away?

I have a few old shirts that could be tossed.

4. Do you work well with others?

Often times, yes. I view myself as a team player, but there are times when I wish to be left to myself to do my tasks.

5. Whats your mental age?(kid at heart?)

It depends on the moment, it really does vary from time to time. Sometimes I feel very youthful and sometimes it seems as if my soul is old. Currently, I don’t really feel too old or too young, just feel somewhere in the middle. A lot of life is gone, done and then, I feel as if I still have a lot left too.

6. Have you ever worked in a restaurant ?

Yes, let’s not go there……………………………

7. What do you like to eat?

Chicken, pork, beef, venison, many pastas, lots of veggies, lots of fruit, CHEESE, etc etc. I do NOT like spicy food, not too much in the way of seafood except shrimp and tuna, and really hate: liver, onions, asparagus, cooked spinach, radishes, beets, turnips, most squash, blueberries, and more but too tired to think lol

8. Do you prefer outdoors or in?

During the winter months and bad weather, indoors. If it’s a beautiful day, outside and in Wisconsin, they seem to be few and far between, so I appreciate them when we get them.

9. Could you survive without internet or cell phone?

I admit, it would be very difficult for me as those are two ways in which I keep connected with the outside world.

10. What time is it?

Currently, it is 8:11 in the morning, central standard time.

11. Did you groan or smile when you read the rules for this award?

As always, smiled with gratitude and humility.

Now to tag 11 lovely bloggers who I wish to nominate for this award:

1) http://jsb10711.wordpress.com

2) http://aopinionatedman.com

3) http://rashikathebookowl.wordpress.com

4) http://tworiversblog.com

5) http://thereporterandthegirl.com

6) http://colouryourdream.com

7) http://cruisingthroughmylife.wordpress.com

8) http://bzebza.com

9) http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com

10) http://writerunrepeat.com

11) http://lifeoutofthebox.com

I don’t know to make it look like just their name instead of copying the entire link to their blog, otherwise I would and make it look cooler. 😉 But, hey, you….yes, you, go check out these amazing blogs! Read, laugh, cry, and enjoy what they have to share! Thank you for inspiring me you lovely nominees! I love you for who you are and what you share with us!

And thank you again, to each blogger I follow and to each one that follows mine. The support you give me is nothing short of amazing! Now off to cuddle with my sleeping boyfriend. 😉 Have a wonderful day and God Bless each of you!

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Over the last few days, I have been nominated for two awards. First, I was nominated by The Eye Dancers for The Very Inspiring Blog 2013 award! Check out their site at http://eyedancers.wordpress.com! It’s an amazing blog, glad I follow it! 🙂 I didn’t see rules attached to this award, so I am going to do what I saw on their site, which is first sharing the photo for the award:

Thank you again for nominating me!!!

Next, I am going to share eight facts about myself:

1) Not everyone knows this, but my first name is Carissa.

2) I love to take pictures.

3) One of my childhood/teenage dreams was to be a Broadway star.

4) I have a mid tenor to high soprano vocal range.

5) I HATE bugs.

6) Science has always been my least favorite subject.

7) I love history

8) I have an odd fascination with numbers and often memorize long strings of them.

Stop by these awesome blogs and enjoy what they share with us!!!! Those I have nominated, I don’t know the official rules, there were none posted. So, just post the photo of the award with your blog post, share eight facts about yourself, nominate 12 people, contact those 12 people on their blog announcing their nomination with a link back to your post.

NEXT, I was nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by Ionia at http://readfulthingsblog.com/. She also has an amazing blog and I want you guys and dolls to check it out!

So, per the rules on this one, I am first sharing the photo:

THANK YOU for the nomination and all of the kind words you have left on my posts! I am so humbled.

Next per the rules, seven facts about myself:

1) I like even numbers and yet my favorite numbers are 3, 7, & 11.

2) I drink water more than any other liquid.

3) I have four tattoos.

4) I plan on trying to publish a book of my poetry.

5) I think Martina McBride has an AMAZING voice.

6) The National Anthem, when sung correctly, makes me cry.

7) I can never envision myself as a vegetarian.

Oh and of course per the rules, I must now nominate 15 others who I feel deserve this award. So without further ado:

Now, I urge you all to stop by and check out these amazing blogs! Nominees….post the award photo in your post, state seven facts about yourself, nominate 15 blogs, alert your nominees in their blog, and link back to your post in that alert.

Thanks again for the nominations and thank you for the continued support! I love you all so much! Keep inspiring and be inspired! ❤

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I have been nominated by http://thereporterandthegirl.com/ for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award and I first wanted to thank her for the nomination and invite all my followers to check out her blog. 🙂

Here are the rules of the award:
1.) Display the award logo on your blog.
2.) Link back to the person who nominated you.
3.) State 7 things about yourself.
4.) Nominate 15 bloggers for this award.
5.) Notify those bloggers of the nomination by linking to one of their specific posts so that they get notified by ping back.

So, per the rules, I need to state seven facts about myself. So, here they are:

Check out these awesome blogs! They have amazing stories, life lessons, laughs, and so much more to share with you!!! Happy reading! And thank you again for the nomination, The Girl, I happily and graciously accept it. Thanks to all who have supported this endeavor and most importantly, thank you to my friend Courtney Wiher who got me to start blogging on WordPress!